Iguana Robotics disco color stick uses light-emitting diodes and photosensors to identify the color of whatever objects it is pressed up against. It then uses a voice synthesizer to say the color name out loud. The color stick can identify 16 different colors. If the color stick is pointed at a light, multicolored object or other unidentifiable color, it says "disco"!
The color stick is the size of a small flashlight, and operates on 2 AAA batteries. Its single button operation can be easily mastered by young children.
Future development directions include:
* Miniturization by including all or most of the electronic components on a single specially designed chip
* Developing various interactive games to play with the color stick such as having the stick ask the child to find a particular color.
* Adding sets of color names in various foreign languages
* Having the color stick play different musical sounds based on the color it sees. This would allow the color stick to be played like a musical intrument by touching different colors.